Sparr
Intrduction: The sands of Sparr are ever shifting, and so are many of it’s people. Sparr was once completely barren of people the only peoples who braved the the sand did it when no other choice was offered. Exiles, criminals, and other desperate people trekked the sand living on whatever could be found. These people became the Mand, warrior nomads living from what they could find or take. You would think that’s the end of the story, but there is also the Cord. Artisans, peasants and others that were once members of Latt, forced to flee after rebelling. They eventually accumulated in large walled cities around oasis’s. At first the two cultures fought but over time they came together, initially to trade but later under a desire to defend their adopted home. The Mand were commanded by their warrior leader and the Cord was governed by a queen. Though their conditions are harsh, they people of Sparr take pride in the art and the technology they have made. So tread lightly as you cross the dunes, you never know what they may be hiding. Main Cities: Ros Iacta Being the smallest out of the major cities in Sparr, Iacta is the home of most artisans, musicians and merchants in the kingdom, the local culture and economy revolving mostly around these practices. Considered almost a port city, many aspects of it's culture were taken from other regions and implemented over the years. The most notable aspects are the musical instruments and genre born within the city (believe to called jazz and swing), and the artisans remarkable work with glass and sculpturing, which can be experienced the very moment one walks through the gates to be greeted by two massive Vehlir statues that guard the entrance and the common market where music is always being played and most artisans sell their goods. Unfortunately due to it's predominant artistic economy, Iacta is known to have a guard that leaves a little to be desired, the local guard only recently starting to grow in numbers after the last Captain perished during a major bandit attack and his second in command took over, know to be marginally more civil and considerate of the community. Regardless, the city can always count on the knights sent by the Cord to protect them from bigger threats, which thankfully tend to be far and few between. Irroro Irroro is the second oldest among the cities of Sparr and is unique for being the only place the Mand are know to settle. Like most of the cities of Sparr it is wall, but two large outcroppings of rock on the east and south-west sides of the city afford it extra protection. The east outcropping is the home a cavern system the has a reflecting pool in it's depths. Irroro is the home of the little leadership the Mand have as well as their *standing* military and military school. Crowded around the city's gate are it's markets catering to the nomadic peoples stopping in the city for supplies while strategic stockpiles and stables crowd the center. One of the stranger bits of architecture is the fact that all bedrooms reside on the tops of building and hove no roofs to that the Mand in the city may sleep under the stars. Cultures Cord Born from some of the refugees of the rebellions in Latt that settled in the south of the land, Cord's society revolves around most forms of art, taking great pride in their people's ability to express themselves and connect with the world around them. Using their skills in carving and building taking pride in their art, they are the most responsible for the creation of Ros and Iacta's more notable structures and decorations, along with their protective walls and ornamented gates. Like most other groups, the Cord is deeply connected to Path, though it has been noted that certain pockets of people have forgone this belief to an extent and started believing in other deities along with Path, some even taking upon the stars for protection and guidance occasionally, believing them to contain the spirits of their loved ones that watch over them from afar. The hierarchy of Cord is simple to those already accustomed to it, the Lords of Old being families tied to the first refugees to arrive from Latt many years ago, who assist the Queen in ruling along with the Mand. The Queen however is always chosen by the previous ruler, usually from one of the families or an outsider depending on the circumstances, though such tradition hasn't been kept with recently. After the fall of Queen Clara, Manda Mirshkot was left with the burden to chose the next Queen Of Cord, and the decisions has yet to be announced to the rest of the kingdom. Mand The Mand are a people of once criminals and other undesirables and now brothers and sisters. The Sands brought them together and forged a new people. A nomadic people who value ones personal honor above all and prefer to keep moving. They travel the land via horse and are excellent cavelry men. They though their hardship have become spiritually close to Path and believe that as long as they keep their honor, follow the law, protect there family, and answer the call of the Manda their Path will end well, believing too that sleeping under the stars will bring one closer to her. The are also believed by some scholars of other kingdom to be the original settlers of the Valley of the Giants but the Mand do not always agree for the Storykeepers speak of no such thing. The Keepers histories are taken as fact and their myths as such, but speak little of the origin of their people. And the Manda the leader of the Mand people in time of war and peace is said to be of great martial skill and of sharp mind, always picked from the Ver. The Ver are the Manda's generals, his advisers, and his right hand men when it comes to special task. The Mand only permanently inhabit one city, Irror, it's fortifications protecting it from invaders and it's reflecting pool bringing them closer to Path. The of the Mand, most in fact, live in small tribes or larger clans roaming the Sands, though a few live in the west among the mountains trading what little they can find.